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Finance Bill

On the face of it, clause 21 is fairly innocuous in terms of raising revenue, but it has obviously raised huge concerns in many parts of the gambling industry. I represent a constituency with coastal resorts, and although their adult gaming centres and amusement arcades in those resorts are small they form part of the entertainment that many such resorts provide. Acceptance of those facilities is slightly mixed. Not all my constituents have gone to the planners saying that they would like more of them. Indeed, demonstrations and campaigns have been mounted to stop certain businesses starting up. We need to strike a balance. Tourists like to use such facilities when they visit, but they are not necessarily the flavour of the month with local residents. Nevertheless, such facilities have been around a long time and are, in the main, small family businesses. In the ordinary run of things, merely raising the duty by the rate of inflation would not be particularly onerous. However, as the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) pointed out, a combination of the Gambling Acts, in some cases the smoking ban and the increase in alcohol duties has begun to put a lot of pressure on such businesses. It is not only arcades that are affected; small pubs and bingo halls are also affected. I was interested to learn about the restriction to four B3 machines in bingo halls, because some such halls are rather large establishments that hold quite a few people. During breaks, people rush to use the machines, but if there are only four machines, there will be queues of people waiting to use them. Four machines might be an acceptable number in a small establishment, but it is not reasonable in a large bingo hall. The Government should consider the whole situation and the effects of different aspects of their legislation and policy. Together, those measures have put particular pressure on such businesses, and it is time to pause and consider the situation in the round. They must consider the effects on businesses and coastal towns, which have many such businesses, and particularly the effects on revenue and jobs. A significant number of jobs are affected; I was surprised to learn how many people are directly or indirectly involved in this large industry. There are great concerns that our efforts to modernise the industry and squeeze a bit more revenue out of it are going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.